After You Apply

VA Claim Exam (C&P Exam)

After you file your disability benefits claim, we may ask you to have a claim exam (also known as a compensation and pension, or C&P, exam). Get answers to commonly asked questions about the VA claim exam below.

Be sure not to miss your scheduled exam.

If you miss your exam, we may not be able to reschedule you right away, and your claim may be delayed while you wait for a new appointment. Or we may need to rate your claim “as-is.” This means we’ll base our decision about your disability benefits only on the evidence we have in your file, which may not be enough.

Why might I need a VA claim exam?

This exam will help us rate your disability. Your rating will be based on how severe your disability is—and will affect how much disability compensation you’ll receive. Compensation may include things like monthly payments and enrollment in the VA health care program.

Does everyone who files a claim need to have a VA claim exam?

No. We’ll ask you to have a claim exam only if we need more information to decide your claim.

If you have enough medical evidence in your file to support your claim, we won’t ask you to have a claim exam. Medical evidence may include doctor and hospital reports, test results, and other documents.

How to schedule your VA claim exam

The staff at your local VA medical center or a local doctor’s office that we partner with will contact you. They’ll either send you a letter by mail with the date and time of your exam, or call you to find a time that works for you.

Make sure both the VA regional office and the VA medical center nearest you have your up-to-date address, phone number, and email address so you get your exam notice in time.

Call the number provided right away to confirm the time and location of your exam. It’s important not to miss your scheduled exam, so you’ll want to double check that you have the right place and time.

If you can’t make it to your appointment, let us know right away. You can most likely reschedule, but this may delay your claim.

What to expect at your VA claim exam

Bring to your exam any new non-VA medical records that you haven’t given us yet. These might include records from a recent surgery or illness.

If you have children, you’ll need to plan ahead for childcare during your exam. Because you and the doctor may discuss sensitive topics, children shouldn’t be in the room with you.

On the day of the exam, you’ll want to wear comfortable clothes so you can move freely while the doctor exams you.

A VA claim exam isn’t like a normal medical exam or other VA health care visits. The doctor won’t treat you for any illness or injury, give you referrals to other health care providers, or prescribe medicine. That’s because the purpose of the exam is to gather information that will help us make a decision on your claim. Each exam is different, depending on the information we need.

If you have any questions about what’s happening during your exam, feel free to ask the doctor. But keep in mind that the doctor’s job is to examine you, not to make any decisions about your claim. They won’t be able to answer questions about the claims process.

After your exam, the doctor will write up a report and send it to a VA claims processor to be added to your claim file.

Your exam may be very short, or it may last an hour or more. It all depends on the conditions you’ve claimed and whether we need more information to make a decision.

For example, the required questions the doctor asks about a knee injury may take only a few minutes. But the questions for a more complex illness or injury could take much longer. A mental health evaluation usually lasts 2 to 4 hours.

It’s important to remember that your in-person visit is only one part of the claim review process. The doctor will also spend time outside the exam carefully reviewing your records.

If you miss your claim exam, contact us right away to let us know why you didn’t make it. We can help you figure out what to do next.

If you have what we consider to be a good reason for missing your exam (called “good cause”), we’ll work with you to reschedule your exam. Examples of “good cause” might be an illness or the death of someone in your immediate family.

After your VA claim exam

Each claim is different, but it usually takes us about 3 to 4 months to process a claim from start to finish. The processing time for your claim depends on how complex your claim is and how many conditions you’ve claimed.

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Please note: Content on this Web page is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or to be a comprehensive statement or analysis of applicable statutes, regulations, and case law governing this topic. Rather, it’s a plain-language summary. If you are seeking claims assistance, your local VA regional office, a VA-recognized Veterans Service Organization, or a VA-accredited attorney or agent can help. Search Accredited Attorneys, Claims Agents, or Veterans Service Organizations (VSO) Representatives.